OrientDB is a graphing database like Neo4j, a document store like Mongo, and you can query it with SQL. This is a brief introduction to getting a server set up, loading it with data and getting that data back out in interesting and fun ways.

React is an extension that brings event-driven, non-blocking IO to PHP. With this new paradigm comes the 'Promise'; a fascinating and powerful pattern for handling asynchronous behaviour. I'll be using React to demonstrate how Promises rock, and why you should consider them for your own applications.

Automated database migrations are extremely useful when doing Continuous Integration and Delivery. Phinx is a simple PHP standalone tool for writing database migrations for existing or new applications. We like it.